It’s possible for HIV to be passed from a woman to her baby during pregnancy, labour and birth, and through breastfeeding.

Yes, it’s possible for HIV to be passed from a woman to her baby:

during pregnancy

during labour and birth

through breastfeeding

However, if you receive treatment for HIV during pregnancy and don’t breastfeed your baby, the risk of your baby getting HIV is less than 1 in 100. Without treatment, the risk of passing HIV to your baby is around 1 in 4.

All pregnant women in the UK are offered an HIV test as part of their antenatal screening. You will be offered a blood test for four infectious diseases:

HIV

syphilis

hepatitis B

rubella

Reducing the risk of passing HIV to your baby

If you have HIV, you can reduce the risk of passing it to your baby by:

taking combination therapy (also called highly active antiretroviral therapy or HAART) during pregnancy, even if you don’t need HIV treatment for your own health